There's no getting around the fact that multiple sclerosis has had a significant impact on Jim Thomson and his wife Paula.

Since he was first diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 1973, it has been a slow but steady downward spiral for the Stratford man.

Like many with MS, Jim's health declined over the years.

His strength faded. His mobility faded. His memory faded.

Perhaps most important, his hope faded.

Despair was creeping in.

"To be honest, I wasn't sure how much longer he would live," said Paula in a frank and open interview Saturday at the couple's Erie St. home.

"You weren't the only one who was thinking that," he added quickly.

But last year, everything changed.

Shortly after learning of a promising new treatment for MS that involves unblocking veins in the neck, the Thomsons found themselves on a plane to Providence, R.I., in November for the so-called Liberation Treatment.

On Nov. 3, Jim was on the table at the Rhode Island Vascular Institute having a balloon inflated inside one of his neck veins to help restore blood flow.

The Italian doctor who pioneered the treatment, Paolo Zamboni, believes the blocked veins interfere with the proper drainage of blood from the brain, leading to a buildup of heavy metals responsible for the symptoms of MS.

The Thomsons have reason to believe he's right.

Almost immediately after the procedure, they noticed results.

"His eyes were bright and shiny, his fingers and toes were pink and warm, and he had substance," she said. "It's hard to explain, but he looked different."

At first she was afraid it was just wishful thinking, but the improvements ome of them subtle and some of them more noticeable.

"I could breathe," recalled Jim. The so-called MS hug -a feeling of tightness or constriction in the chest that makes it difficult to draw a deep breath -was gone.

What was slowly coming back, in addition to his strength, his energy, his colour and his sense of mental clarity, was a feeling of hope.

Since November, that has grown considerably.

"Every morning I wake up and start to examine what I can do," he said. "Before, it was what I couldn't do."

The downward spiral is reversing itself, he said, suggesting that many of the things that MS has taken from him are slowly being returned.

And the little improvements are heralded as big triumphs by a couple hit hard by the disease over the past 40 years.

Simply raising his right hand to hold hers -something he hasn't been able to do for years -brought tears to her eyes the first time he did it.

Other things that most adults take for granted -feeding himself, coughing, blowing his own nose -are now considered milestones in his recovery, achievements to be celebrated.

"I feel like a toddler," he said with a smile, drawing a laugh from his wife.

Indeed, humour seems to be an important coping mechanism for the couple.

On Saturday, Jim was wearing a T-shirt with the words "brain drained" stencilled on the front, in reference to the venoplasty treatment. He has another one, a Christmas gift from his children, that reads "go with the flow."

And that sense of humour was bubbling under the surface, even when the conversation turned serious and Jim reflected on how MS has changed his life.

"It's like I've been in prison for 40 years," he said.

"And I'm the keeper," she added with a laugh.

"Yes, but at least you have day parole," he shot back.

Based on his own remarkable progress, which Paula has carefully tracked in a detailed log, and which an occupational therapist has confirmed in an analysis of his improved range of motion, the Thomsons unreservedly recommend that others with MS consider the Liberation treatment.

It's costly -and Paula becomes animated and angry when she speaks about the government's refusal to cover the cost of the procedure here in Canada -but well worth the money, said Paula.

"Beg, borrow or steal," she said. "It gives you your life back."

"It gives you your hope back," added Jim.

And hope is something they want to share with others struggling with the cruel and debilitating disease that affects as many as 75,000 people in Canada. The couple has already spoken about their experiences at Zion Lutheran Church and at Woodland Towers and are scheduled to give another talk at Spruce Lodge's Griffith Auditorium March 28 at 10 a.m.

He's almost 65 now, and hope is something Jim clings to with all the strength he can muster.

Asked if he feels robbed by MS, Jim pauses, thinks for a moment, then shakes his head, refusing to dwell on what the disease has taken from him and his family over the past 40 years.

There's a place deep inside him where he keeps those feelings, he said. It's locked.

"That's a door I won't open."

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